Fire Alone Can Save Our Clan
by LuthienNenharma
Summary: This is the story of Spottedleaf as a kit, Spottedkit, and the journeys of Bluestar before she became deputy or leader, while she was pregnant, and her journey with her Clan
1. Prologue & Chapter One:The Beginning

Prologue

Snowfoot lay in the nursery, licking her newborn kits. There were four, three in the image of their father, the Thunderclan warrior Greyfur. She sighed and licked them softly as they slept. She looked down at the smallest female and nudged her softly with the end of her nose. "My little Spottedkit…" she said, with a glow of motherly affection for the smallest of her offspring. She had a feeling that this little cat would grow up to be a great Clan member one day….

Chapter One

The Beginning

Spottedkit ran out of the nursery, her bright eyes shining with happiness and excitement as she raced with her two brothers, Stormkit and Foxkit, and her sister, Tallkit.

She let out a giggling _mmrow _and chased them around the grassy area. "I'll get you, Shadowclan!" she yelled, with a playful growl, and pounced onto Foxkit, nipping at his pelt playfully. He let out an _oomph _of surprise as she landed on him, and swiped at her with sheathed paws, showing her his teeth as he rolled until he was on top of her.

"Never! I'll be the only cat walking away from here!" he exclaimed, and took feeble blows at her exposed belly with his paws, until Tallkit and Stormkit went tumbling into them, knocking them all into a confused and exhausted pile of kittens. Snowfoot, hearing the commotion, walked out of the nursery, and upon seeing the pile of kits, began to laugh.

"Now, come on. Let's play nice." she said, still chuckling.

"Yes, mother." they all said in unison, and began to share tongues with each other.

Just then, Greyfur came around the corner. He was a large grey tom with huge, black-tipped ears.

"Daddy!" the kits yelled, and all simultaneously pounced on him, playfully bouncing around on his back. Greyfur smiled and turned his head to give a friendly lick to the hyper kits on his back.

"Hello, Spottedkit, Foxkit, Tallkit, and Stormkit." he said, carefully picking up each kit in his mouth and setting them down beside him, wrapping his tail around them. They stuck their faces up from beneath the mass of grey fur and peered up at him, perplexed. Snowfoot and Greyfur let out _mmrows _of laughter while the kits struggled to get out of Greyfur's bushy tail.

The kits began to bound off nearer to the center of camp, and Snowfoot gave Greyfur a lick on the muzzle, and then set off to follow her kits. Greyfur watched them disappear around the corner, and he bowed his head sadly, with a strange feeling that would be the last time they would all meet together in happiness.

As the kits came racing in front of the warriors' den, meowing loudly and happily, several sleepy grumbles were heard from inside, as Snowfoot moved to calm her kits. Bluefur came around the corner, her coat shining in the morning sunlight, and she smiled at the kits' antics. She herself would be moving into the nursery soon, to have her own rambunctious litter. The two queens touched noses softly and sat beside each other, watching the kits tumble in their play. Bluefur gazed at them and then turned to Snowfoot, who smiled happily.

"I bet you can't wait for yours." she said happily, her eyes sparkling. Bluefur nodded slowly, forcing a smile, but she couldn't help but think about her kits' father, who was deputy of a rival clan, Riverclan. 'Oakheart….' she thought to herself, sadly, 'What must I do?'. Snowfoot looked at Bluefur, confused as to why the queen looked so sad.

"What's wrong, Bluefur?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"Oh nothing…just...just thinking.." Bluefur replied, gazing back at Snowfoot with a small smile, and with that she walked off, leaving Snowfoot alone with the kits. Snowfoot gazed back as Bluefur left, wondering what was going on, before she turned back to her kits, watching them under her careful eye.

Bluefur sighed as she walked off, a strange feeling rising in the pit of her stomach, as she thought of Oakheart and their forbidden love. She decided the feeling must be hunger, and stalked off to find some prey. As she passed through the boundaries of the camp, and into the bulk of Thunderclan territory, Bluefur gazed around, opening her mouth to let the scents of the woods pass through her scent glands. Suddenly she smelt the warm aroma of a rodent. "Mouse!" she muttered, and pinpointing the location with a turn of her ears, crouched into a hunting stalk, tiptoeing into the underbrush. Suddenly, she spotted her quarry and pounced, killing the mouse with one swift paw stroke. She took the still warm body into her mouth and went silently back into camp, stopping near the entrance to swallow the mouse in a few quick bites. Still, the feeling in her stomach remained, and she realized that it wasn't hunger. Something was going to go amiss, she could feel it…


	2. Chapter Two: Sorrows

The leader of Thunderclan, Eveningstar, a great, jet-black tom, jumped up onto the Highrock and yowled for a clan meeting. Cats came pouring out of every nook and cranny, and sat themselves beneath the shadow of the rock. "Cats of Thunderclan! I'm afraid I have bad news. Shadowclan warriors have been scented inside our territory, and not just on the borders. Keep an eye out for a while, and make sure you hunt only in a group of at least two." he sighed and bowed his head "And be careful.." with that, he flicked his tail to signal that the meeting was over, and jumped down, disappearing behind the hanging lichen over his den. Bluefur sat where she was, as the cats dispersed around her, and lay down. She feared for the safety of the clan, and for her kits.

Snowfoot stared up at the unoccupied rock, her eyes glazed with worry. One of her kits was already sick with a cough. It had gotten worse over the past few days, and Stormkit was staying with the medicine cat, Moonheart. She decided to go check on him, and padded over to the healer's den. Moonheart was sitting outside, her head bowed.

"Moonheart?" Snowfoot mewed softly, flicking her tail slightly, wondering why Moonheart looked so sad.

"I'm sorry..." Moonheart whispered, looking up, her eyes clouded with grief. "He just went...but In the end he was in Starclan's paws..."

Snowfoot shook her head, stepping back in disbelief, and she ran past into the medicine cat's den. She bounded over to where Stormkit lay, motionless in a spongy bed of moss, and she licked him against his coat, willing him to move, but there was no motion nor sound.

Snowfoot pricked her ears and gazed around as Moonheart entered, padding lightly.

"Would you like to bury him alone?", Moonheart asked, her eyes compassionate and sorrowful. Snowfoot nodded and took her son's body carefully, bounding off to the edge of camp. Cats turned as she passed, but she kept her eyes down. Greyfur spotted her and ran over, his eyes wide in disbelief and shock.

"No...not Stormkit..." he whispered, padding over to Snowfoot and licking her muzzle softly as she set the small kit down. He licked the body once, and bowed his head.

"Is there no ease for this pain...?" he choked out, his throat tightening with his sadness.

Snowfoot bowed her head and buried her offspring, before darting off to the nursery.

Inside the nursery, Spottedkit, Foxkit, and Tallkit were all waiting for their mother. Spottedkit jumped up on Snowfoot.

"Can we go see Stormkit? Is he all better now?" she said excitedly, but then frowning as Snowfoot shook her off gently.

"Stormkit...is dead...", she replied, barely audible. The three kits beside her mewed shrilly in panic and grief.

"No!..." Tallkit meowed, her voice shaky. "It can't be..."

Foxkit just looked up at his mother, great wisdom and sorrow in his eyes as he spoke.

"Do kits join Starclan too?"


	3. Chapter Three: A Conflict

((Sorry, but its very short))

Bluefur awoke, shaking sleep off of her mind as she stood and stretched, padding out of the nursery. She stopped at the entrance and licked her fur off, her rough tongue going over her swollen belly full of kits. Rising, she padded over to the freshkill pile and picked out a small thrush, munching hungrily on it as she gazed around at the ruffled cats now emerging from their dens and standing in the clearings, grooming each other or taking shares from the kill pile. One of her former fellow warriors, a golden-colored she-cat named Sunfur, padded over to her and licked her shoulder affectionately.

"How are you, Bluefur?" she asked, smiling, and choosing a fat robin for a morning meal. "Shouldn't you be kitting soon, my friend?"

Bluefur nodded, finishing her meal. "Any day now..."

Sunfur sighed and gazed thoughtfully at the wisps of cloud hanging overhead in the turquoise sky. "I hope for my own someday..."

Bluefur nodded and stood, bidding her friend goodbye and walking away towards the woods. She was heading to Sunningrocks, to meet Oakheart, the kits' father.

She ran once she got outside of the Clan's watching camp borders. She padded over to Sunningrocks where she saw a pair of eyes peeking up from behind it.

"Hello Oakheart," she said, smiling and purring as she nuzzled his neck.

Oakheart licked her head affectionately and smiled in return.

"Hello Bluefur...how are you?"

She frowned slightly and turned her head towards him.

"I would be better...if I could be with you always..."

Oakheart sighed and bowed his head for a moment, before lifting his head and looking her in the eyes.

"Bluefur, you _know _we can't do that...and you know why."

Bluefur sighed and nodded, giving him a farewell meow and running back to camp, stopping only to wash the Riverclan scent off of her.

She padded through the brush at the entrance, then groaned as she felt the first pains of labor. She meowed for assistance, and padded as quickly as she could into the nursery. Her time had come.

((Very sorry for all my shortness and laziness, but this is summer vacation XD))


	4. Chapter 4: A Prelude To Treachery

-1All of the warriors and apprentices gathered around the nursery, murmuring amongst themselves and wondering about Bluefur and her kitting. Finally, after perhaps an hour, the medicine cat apprentice, Goldenpaw, stepped out and smiled at the waiting crowd of cats.  
"Thunderclan has three new kits!" he exclaimed, and the cats all yowled in happiness. Meanwhile, Eveningstar, the Thunderclan leader, was visiting the new mother. Bluefur was sleeping curled up in her mossy bed. Three tiny kits lay beside her. Two were a silvery blue like their mother, and the other was a dark tabby with dazzling emerald eyes. One by one, the warriors and apprentices were allowed to approach the new kits, and they learned their scents by name. Mistykit, Stonekit, and Rustlekit.  
Nobody was quite sure of the father of these kits, but it was always the mother's choice whether or not to reveal it. The first two kits did look just like their mother, but this tabby was strange. The only cat with that color was merely an apprentice, but no cat really questioned it. The kits were alive, strong, and healthy, and that's what really mattered.

Satisfied, he padded out of the nursery, and headed for his own den at the base of the Great Rock. Thunderclan had three new kits, but that also meant three new mouths to feed, and leaf bare was fast approaching. With a sigh, he curled up in his mossy bed, and willed himself to sleep, hoping that everything would look better when he awoke.

Before Eveningstar had even gotten an hour in edgewise of sleep, one of the older apprentices, a dark tabby, came scrambling into his den with a yowl, eyes wide as he panted, trying to catch his breath. "Foxpelt is dead!" he meowed frantically, his own side bleeding quite freely from a gash. Eveningstar had awoken at the first pawstep, his eyes disbelieving. "Dead?" he echoed, "How did this happen?" he asked incredulously. It seemed too horrible to be true; He had only lain down for a short while, and a warrior _dies_? How bad could things get?

The apprentice, whose name was Tigerpaw, answered, "We were patrolling the Shadowclan border, since we had caught fresh scents inside our boundaries, and we were ambushed by three Shadowclan warriors! We fought, but one of them grabbed him and…and…well I only just fought him off, he was the last, and ran back."

Eveningstar nodded, with a heavy sigh, and followed the apprentice back out to the camp, looking with sorrow upon the body that lay in the middle of the clearing. The moon was just rising as she gazed into the sky, and leaped onto the Great Rock, but there was no need to call for a meeting, since every cat in the Clan was already gathered.   
"Cats of Thunderclan, it is with great sorrow that I say this; Foxpelt is dead. He was killed by a Shadowclan ambush, but our brave apprentice, Tigerpaw, fought them bravely off, and carried his fallen comrade home. Therefore…" he took a slight pause, but continued on.

"I, Eveningstar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon our warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. Tigerpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

Tigerpaw's eyes glinted with excitement, but beyond the innocence of exhiliration, a glimmer of ambition sparkled. "I do." he replied steadily.

"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Tigerpaw; from this moment on, you shall be known as Tigerclaw. Starclan honors your loyalty and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan."  
Eveningstar stepped forward and rested his muzzle on Tigerclaw's head, who craned to give his leader's shoulder a respectful lick, before padding off to join the warriors. "Tigerclaw, ask Goldenpaw to look at your side, and after he is done, you will sit in silent vigil until dawn, guarding the camp as we sleep."

Tigerclaw nodded respectfully, and held his tail high as he padded toward his new den. He was a _warrior _now.


End file.
